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LGHL No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball holds off Nebraska 72-66

No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball holds off Nebraska 72-66
ThomasCostello
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Ohio State University Athletic Department

The Buckeyes pick up a big road win behind big performances by Thierry and McMahon

The No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball team (19-1, 8-1) traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, playing their lone game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-5, 6-3). After being down for most of the first half, strong deep shooting by Taylor Thierry’s 23 points led the Buckeyes in a 72-66 road victory.

Ohio State entered a rough home environment for Nebraska, who have not lost at home in nearly a year. On top of that, the Cornhuskers found strong form to head into Sunday’s game on a five-game winning steak. From the jump, Nebraska looked like every bit of a team competing in the top five of the Big Ten.

The Cornhuskers were aggressive from deep to start the game, going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Each time, the shots came from extra passes with the Buckeyes keeping an extra player near the paint to account for center Alexis Markowski.

Offensively, Markowski still led scoring in the first 10 minutes, accounting for seven of Nebraska’s 21 points. Head coach Amy Williams’ side didn’t have success though on the boards. The Cornhuskers didn’t put extra players near the basket to try and grab offensive rebounds, instead focusing on running back on defense as quickly as possible to slow down the Buckeyes’ offense.

Nebraska’s defense worked well on freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge. The Buckeyes’ first year star matched up with fellow standout freshman guard Britt Prince of Nebraska. The reigning co-Freshman of the Week award winners were on each other from the tipoff, with Prince forcing two turnovers from Cambridge. It was part of a tough first half for the Ohio State freshman, missing her lone attempted shot and giving the ball away three times.

In the second quarter, Ohio State erased their four-point deficit but it was met with an eight-point run for the Cornhuskers. With three minutes remaining in the half, guard Kennedy Cambridge went on a coast-to-coast run, running through four Nebraska players and hitting a layup around Markowski under the rim. It spurred on the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball, holding the Cornhuskers to 2-of-6 shooting to close the half.

Ohio State almost took the lead with less than two seconds remaining. That’s when guard Madison Greene received the inbound pass and threw up a running three-point shot. The shot banked off the backboard and Greene held her hands over her mouth in disbelief, with both teams heading to the locker room with Ohio State up 39-38.

However, after a lengthy review at the scorer’s table, the officiating crew announced they were heading to their room to look at the shot further. On the three-pointer, Greene’s foot stepped on the line, meaning the shot was technically out of bounds and didn’t count.

In the second half, the Cornhuskers and Buckeyes traded baskets and Ohio State tied the game three times, with McMahon leading the charge. After hitting a three-point shot, McMahon anticipated a pass on defense, at the top of the arc, which turned into a fast break layup. Nebraska hit a three to get ahead again, but then the Buckeyes went on a nine-point run to jump ahead.

During the run, four different Ohio State players scored, with Thierry hitting an open three-point shot with the visitors opening up their passing game and finding open shooting opportunities. Kennedy Cambridge hit a layup, then an assist to Greene before a McMahon layup finished off the run.

That McMahon layup started with a block by Kennedy Cambridge on Nebraska’s Prince, from behind. It was one of two blocks from the redshirt sophomore in the period, again adding intensity in a game when Ohio State needed it the most.


Ken gets the block, Cotie takes it all the way for ✌️ pic.twitter.com/EWR7KxTmcV

— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) January 26, 2025

Absent from the run was Jaloni Cambridge. The younger Cambridge sister played four minutes in the first 13 of the second half, not taking a shot and watching most of the third quarter, and start of the fourth, from the bench.

When Jaloni Cambridge came in, the tough day for the freshman continued. Within a minute of game time, Jaloni Cambridge earned a foul for a charge. On defense, the freshman leapt to intercept a pass, won the ball but was called for a foul in colliding with a Nebraska player. Then, Jaloni Cambridge had a reach in foul go against the point guard and it sent her to the bench with four fouls and no points.

Nebraska took advantage of their loud home environment and pushed back late, going on a seven-point run. After scoring four of the first six points, the Buckeyes took only three shots in under five minutes, and missed all three. Stopping the cold shooting was Thierry who hit a step-back three-point shot, her fifth of the day.

Markowski responded with a shot in the paint, but Thierry’s three gave the Buckeyes a two-point lead.

Ohio State held on, keeping Nebraska off the scoreboard for the final 1:44 of the game, with Markowski missing two free throws.

On top of Thierry’s 23 points and seven rebounds, McMahon had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, with both team leaders grabbing three steals a piece. Markowski led the way for the home side, scoring 18 points but grabbing only six rebounds, under the senior’s 8.2 rebounds per game average entering Sunday.

What’s Next

The Buckeyes are back on Sunday when they welcome the Washington Huskies to Columbus. It’s the third time McGuff faces his previous program, splitting the last two games. Ohio State hasn’t faced the Huskies since Dec. 5, 2018 with the Buckeyes losing 69-59.

Washington is 4-4 in the Big Ten this season, defeating Northwestern, Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue but enter their trip east losing three of the last four games. On Monday, the Huskies are in Bloomington, Indiana to play the Indiana Hoosiers, led by Sayvia Sellers, the Washington sophomore from Alaska who averages a team high 16.6 points per game.

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LGHL Game preview: No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball vs Nebraska

Game preview: No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball vs Nebraska
Connor Lemons
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Buckeyes head to the Vault Sunday afternoon, seeking a win to stay in the running for a Big Ten title.

The Ohio State women’s basketball team (18-1, 7-1) is in Lincoln, Nebraska Sunday afternoon to take on the Cornhuskers (15-4, 6-2). Like Ohio State, Nebraska is undefeated at home this season, heading into Sunday’s game with a perfect 12-0 record at Pinnacle Bank Arena, aka “The Vault.”

The Buckeyes now enter a four-game stretch that will determine whether or not they will be cutting nets down in five weeks and celebrating a Big Ten championship. After Sunday’s game against the ‘Huskers, Ohio State gets six days off and returns home to face the 10th-place Washington Huskies.

Then, the Buckeyes will head west to face No. 4 USC and top-ranked UCLA — both of whom are undefeated in conference play this season. They also happen to be the only two team ahead of the Buckeyes in the B1G standings.

But enough about the future, back to the present.


Preview


Kevin McGuff’s team bounced back from an upset loss to Penn State last weekend by holding serve at home against No. 8 Maryland Thursday night, 74-66. Freshman supernova Jaloni Cambridge led the Buckeyes with 20 points and eight rebounds over 31 minutes, setting a career-high in boards.


.@kencambridge_ x @JaloniCambridge for two ‼️ pic.twitter.com/jyEwr3CCL1

— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) January 24, 2025

Jaloni’s older sister Kennedy Cambridge chipped in 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting over 24 minutes against the Terrapins. Her dozen points was a career-high, and she also had five rebounds, four steals, and three assists. She stepped up with the absence of Chance Gray, who did play in the game, but struggled to an extent that she was more or less invisible. Gray was scoreless in 21 minutes, shooting 0-for-7 and committing two fouls.

The Terrapins had a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter and a seven-point advantage at halftime against the Buckeyes in Columbus. Ohio State ripped off a 15-0 run in the third quarter to pull ahead, ultimately winning by eight.

Last February when these teams last met, Ohio State’s full-court press tortured and entangled the Cornhuskers, forcing them into an astounding 30 turnovers. Ohio State turned those 30 turnovers into 29 points, and went on to win, 80-47. Cotie McMahon had a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double in the rout.

It’s year nine for Nebraska head coach Amy Williams, who herself played for the program from 1994-1998. The ‘Huskers are on pace to potentially surpass last year’s success, when they went 23-12, finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and won their first NCAA Tournament game in 10 years.

Nebraska is fresh off of a 91-60 win over Wisconsin Monday night. Senior guard Kendall Moriarty scored a career-high 17 points for the ‘Huskers, who went back and forth with Wisconsin for roughly one quarter before opening up the floodgates and running away with the game. Moriarty was also 3-for-4 from three-point range, and as a team Nebraska was 16-for-32 from beyond the arc.


CAREER HIGH ALERT @kendalmoriarty on fire tonight pic.twitter.com/Fion1rKuhW

— Nebraska Women's Basketball (@HuskerWBB) January 21, 2025

Moriarty is one of seven Nebraska players who are shooting 35% or better from three-point range this season. Nebraska averages 8.5 made three-pointers per game this season — the highest mark in the Big Ten. At 36.5%, they also have the second-best three-point shooting percentage in the conference.

Williams’ team is led by senior forward Alexis Markowski (14.5 PPG, 8.2 REB) and freshman guard Britt Prince (13.6 PPG, 4.6 REB, 3.2 AST, 39.4% 3PT). Markowski recorded five assists against Wisconsin this week, more than doubling her season average and making it her first game in in over two months where she’s recorded more than four assists.

In her career, Markowski has scored 1,639 points and grabbed 1,112 rebounds. She is nearing top-10 in program history in scoring, but what is more astounding is that the 6-foot-3 senior is now three rebounds away from becoming the all-time program leader at Nebraska. Considering that she’s grabbed at least three rebounds in 18 of 19 games this season, it feels pretty safe to assume that she will break that record on Sunday afternoon against Ohio State.

In three career games against Ohio State, Nebraska’s soon-to-be all-time rebounding leader has averaged 15.6 points and 13 rebounds per game, while shooting an even 50%. All three of those games were Ohio State wins over Nebraska.


cannot get enough of this duo ‼️ pic.twitter.com/OSO4cfIIk3

— Nebraska Women's Basketball (@HuskerWBB) January 21, 2025

Prince, the other side of Nebraska’s two-headed monster, has stepped up her game considerably during Nebraska’s five-game winning streak. During the ‘Huskers’ last five games, Prince is averaging 16.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. She is also shooting 38.7% from three-point range during that stretch.

Look for Ohio State to try to pressure Prince into some mistakes on Sunday afternoon, although the freshman has committed just seven turnovers over the last four games, so it may not be as easy as it seems. If Nebraska can avoid committing 30 turnovers this year and move the ball without letting Ohio State’s chaos break them down, Prince could have a big game.


How to Watch


Date: Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
Stream: B1G+


LGHL Score Prediction: No. 12 Ohio State 74, Nebraska 71


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LGHL Ohio State’s biggest 2025 NFL Draft stock-risers

Ohio State’s biggest 2025 NFL Draft stock-risers
Gene Ross
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A good chunk of Buckeyes made themselves a lot of money over the past few weeks.

This Friday was the deadline for Ohio State’s NFL Draft-bound players to officially announce their intent to move on to the next level. Not too many Buckeyes had big decisions to make, as seniors like Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, Denzel Burke, Emeka Egbuka and many others were obviously going professional having already stayed in Columbus a year longer than originally expected.

There were, however, a few guys with the ability to return for another season that have instead chosen to enter the 2025 NFL Draft. That trio of players includes Jordan Hancock, Quinshon Judkins and Josh Simmons — none of whom come as any surprise, as all three had clearly done enough this season to warrant going pro.

That being said, Ohio State is also fortunate to have a pair of starting defenders forgo the NFL Draft with the goal of improving their stock following another year with the Buckeyes, as both linebacker Sonny Styles and cornerback Davison Igbinosun will return next season. With the Silver Bullets losing basically every other starter from the 2024 unit outside of Caleb Downs, having both Styles and Iggy back for 2025 will be a huge boost to a defense looking to follow up an incredible campaign.

Prior to this College Football Playoff run, the futures of a good deal of Ohio State’s NFL-bound talents were rather uncertain. The Buckeyes’ roster was filled to the brim with five-stars and former blue-chip prospects, but not all of them had lived up to the billing. Following an unbelievable postseason run culminating in a national championship, many of those same players have drastically improved their stock.

Here are just a few of Ohio State’s biggest risers heading into the 2025 NFL Draft...

Donovan Jackson


The biggest and move obvious stock riser for Ohio State, both from the College Football Playoff run and the entire season as a whole, is undoubtedly Donovan Jackson. The Buckeyes’ offensive line was in a terrible place following injuries to both Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin, and Jackson made the selfless decision to move over to left tackle to help fill the void left by Simmons’ absence.

Had it not worked out, Jackson could have significantly hurt his own prospective future. Instead, Jackson became the MVP of Ohio State’s season, providing structure and consistency at one of the most important positions on the field.

The Buckeyes’ offensive line, which had become the team’s biggest point of weakness, became one of their strengths as the year wore on. Jackson’s presence at tackle was a key part of that turnaround, as the former five-star guard allowed zero sacks and all of two pressures over 126 pass-blocking snaps during the CFP — a good chunk of which came against NFL-caliber defensive linemen.

With experience at both guard at tackle, Jackson could now find himself as a top-50 overall pick, with a chance to go in the late first round if the right team has their eyes on the 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive lineman.

Will Howard


Despite some national media folk proclaiming him the ‘worst starting quarterback in the College Football Playoff’, Will Howard got the last laugh by hoisting the national championship trophy. For the Kansas State transfer, it wasn’t even a situation of Ohio State winning despite clear limitations from its starting quarterback, like we saw as recently as last season’s “champs”. No, the Buckeyes won it all in large part because of the play of Howard down the stretch.

Across the four postseason games, Howard completed 82 of his 109 pass attempts (75.2%) for 1,150 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which came on a questionable call in the back of the end zone against Tennessee. He put the cherry on top with a masterful performance against Notre Dame, completing each of his first 13 pass attempts to set a CFP title game record. Howard was named the offensive MVP of the championship matchup, throwing for 231 yards and two TDs with no turnovers.

Howard finished the overall campaign with over 4,000 yards passing and 42 total touchdowns to 10 picks, breaking Ohio State’s single-season completion percentage record with a 73% accuracy mark. After four good-but-not-great seasons with the Wildcats, Howard became a completely different player under the tutelage of Ryan Day and Chip Kelly. As a guy who stands at 6-foot-4, 235-pounds, it is odd that Howard isn’t receiving more NFL Draft buzz, especially with a thin group of quarterback’s in this class.

With his exceptional play on the field matched by his tremendous leadership skills and high football IQ, it will not be at all surprising if Howard is selected on Day 2.

Lathan Ransom


If Jackson was the unsung hero of Ohio State’s offense, then Lathan Ransom was his counterpart on the defensive side of the ball. So much of the focus on Jim Knowles’ elite group this season was centered around guys like Downs, Sawyer and Tuimoloau, but the Buckeyes’ defense as a whole would not have performed as well as it did without Ransom playing the best football of his career. But don't take my word for it, take it from his fellow safety:

“I really don’t think people give [Ransom] enough credit,” Downs told Eleven Warriors. “He’s an elite player. He has elite instincts, and he’s one of the most physical people I’ve met in my life (laughs). And he pushes me to be more physical every day.”

Statistically, Ransom’s 2024 season was the best of his career, finishing the year with 76 tackles — fourth-most on the team — to go along with nine tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, two pass breakups and a team-high three forced fumbles. Ransom also recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown in Ohio State’s first game of the season against Akron. While the counting numbers are obvious good on their own, so much of what makes Ransom great doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.

The Arizona native finished the year as the highest-graded run defender in all of college football, per PFF. Ransom has always been a punishing tackler, putting his physicality on display time and time again while also avoiding penalties and missed tackles by not being overly aggressive. His steadying presence at the back end of Ohio State’s secondary allowed them to move Downs all around the field, often closer to the line of scrimmage, trusting Ransom as that last line of defense.

His combination of size, speed and athleticism along with his tackling abilities and versatility should make Ransom a Day 2 pick at worst.

Cody Simon


Heading into his fifth season at Ohio State, Cody Simon was thought of as an above-replacement level linebacker. We had seen some flashes from the former top-100 recruit during his time as the No. 3 guy behind Steele Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg in 2023, but the expectations were not super high to begin his first full campaign as the starter in 2024.

The senior had earned the ‘Block O’ jersey in the offseason for his leadership and commitment to the program, but could he put it all together on the field right in the middle of this Ohio State defense?

The answer, of course, was a resounding yes, as Simon quickly turned into one of the Buckeyes’ most important defensive players. Starting at the MIKE as the quarterback of the defense, Simon was in the middle of everything Ohio State did this season, finishing with a team-high 112 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, seven sacks and seven pass breakups. The senior had clearly made huge strides in the offseason with the help of position coach James Laurinaitis, and it all resulted in being named the defensive MVP of the national title game.

With all of the other talent around him, Simon came into the year as a bit of an afterthought, but he finished the season as one of the most crucial cogs in the machine. Projected earlier in the year as an UDFA, the New Jersey kid should hear his name called somewhere in the early-middle rounds.

Quinshon Judkins/TreVeyon Henderson


Running backs aren’t as highly valued in the NFL as they once were, but don't tell that to Ohio State’s incredible backfield duo of Henderson and Judkins. Henderson spent all four years in Columbus, but had a tough time staying healthy over the first three. In came Judkins, who transferred to Ohio State with the intentions of creating a timeshare between himself and Henderson to preserve both of their bodies for the next level.

The experiment proved out an immense success, and likely could not have worked out better for everyone involved. Both backs managed to eclipse over 1,000 yards rushing on the season, with Judkins finishing with 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns (5.5 yards per carry) and Henderson with 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns (7.1 yards per carry). Henderson was the more involved receiver of the two with 27 catches for 284 yards and a TD, but Judkins was right there with him with 22 catches for 161 yards and two TDs.

Even despite playing a 16-game season, the duo managed to keep some extra tread off the tires by splitting carries. This was especially true for Judkins, who had totaled 274 and 271 carries in 2022 and 2023, respectively, before dropping that number to 194 this year. Henderson also saw fewer carries than past campaigns, with a career-high 183 carries as a freshman before totaling 144 attempts in 2024.

With both guys having played huge roles in Ohio State’s success as a team, both Henderson and Judkins now find themselves ranked among the top five or six players at the position heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.

Jack Sawyer


Of course, we can’t talk about guys improving their NFL Draft stock without at least mentioning Jack Sawyer.

The story of Captain Jack was been told a million times at this point: the local Ohio kid who grew up rooting for Ohio State, came to the Buckeyes as a five-star prospect but hadn’t quite lived up to the billing heading into the 2024 season. Sawyer was one of the seniors who led the charge in the large group of players who decided to forgo the 2024 NFL Draft and return to Columbus for one more ride in search of a national title — a goal that they have now ultimately achieved.

As far as Sawyer himself, something finally clicked for the defensive end this year, and after a previous career-high of 6.5 sacks in 2023, the 6-foot-4 edge rusher put up a personal best nine sacks and added nine tackles for loss as one of the shining stars on Ohio State’s much-improved defensive line. Sawyer was especially dominant during the Buckeyes’ CFP run, totaling 4.5 sacks and seven pass breakups over the four-game stretch, while also making perhaps the college football season’s most memorable play on his sack-fumble return for a touchdown to ice the game against Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

As one of the team’s leaders both on and off the field, you couldn’t have scripted a better ending for Sawyer. Now having completed his mission, the Ohio kid finds himself as one of the top defensive ends in this NFL Draft class and a potential first-round pick.

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